TowerFall: Ascension Aiming For Early 2014 Launch On PS4

Some of the biggest news coming out of the Sony PlayStation 4 launch event had nothing to do with big, AAA games or first party uber titles. Instead, some of the biggest buzz for the future of the new home console is centered around TowerFall: Ascension, an indie multiplayer battle game.

If you're one of the 35 people who owns an Ouya, then there's a very good chance that you own and have played the ever-loving hell out of TowerFall, formerly a console exclusive for the micro gaming machine. Sporting some spritely graphics and frantic multiplayer action, TowerFall pits players against one another in an archery-infused battle game of manic mayhem, sporting dozens of arenas, special items and abilities for players to utilize in hopes of being the last man standing.

Just prior to the launch of the PlayStation 4, Sony announced that the enhanced version of the game, TowerFall: Ascension, will be coming to the PS4 in early 2014. The game has already garnered quite a bit of love from the gaming press and, now that it's coming to a console that will have a decidedly larger install base, even more of the world can dive in and fall in love with the game, too.

Game creator Matt Thorson described Towerfall as “fast-paced, intense and strategic with nuanced controls, one-hit kills and limited ammo.” In other words, it's similar to a lot of the melee-style action games that pop up from time to time but, due to its limitations and focus on aim, the game can become quite a bit tense when players know that a single hit will be enough to end their game.

“With the right opponents, a deep multiplayer game allows you to test, teach and taunt each other,” Thorson said in the game's official announcement. “You can explore the game's world and systems together and challenge each other to improve, all while having some laughs.”

Thorson goes on to say that, with this PS4 version of the game, Towerfall is finally reaching its “complete vision.”

“There's a crazy amount of new content: 50 new versus levels, four more playable archers, an all-new two player cooperative Quest mode, six additional power-ups and more,” he said. “We've even gone back and refined everything in the original release. It feels like a whole new game.”

Okay, so, maybe my crack about the Ouya earlier was a little harsh but, let's face it, the system isn't exactly setting the world on fire. For a game that was only ever available on that particular console, especially one as good as TowerFall, that can be sort of a bummer. I'd absolutely love to see the Ouya take off but, in the meantime, it's nice to know that TowerFall will get a second crack at success on the PS4.